James Wan, the filmmaker who was hugely influential in building the Conjuring universe into the billion dollar box office juggernaut it is today, is set to produce a remake of the Korean horror smash Train To Busan, with The Nun writer Gary Dauberman penning the script.
With Wan behind the project, multiple studios have naturally jumped at the chance to secure the rights to the film, and reportedly a bidding war has broken out, with New Line, Paramount, Universal, Lionsgate and Screen Gems all heavily interested. Collider reports that New Line may have won the bidding war and are in final negotiations for the rights to the remake.
San-ho Yeon‘s original film follows passengers on a train from Seoul to Busan that get caught in the middle of a zombie outbreak. It did incredible business in its native South Korea and worldwide, reeling in $85 million. The U.S. only accounted for $2 million of that though, so perhaps that’s where studios see huge potential in the remake.
No director is on board yet, and it doesn’t seem like Wan himself is interested. Dauberman penned both IT and The Nun, which were both box office hits but differed heavily in quality. He also has a Swamp Thing series in the works for DC’s streaming service, DC Universe, and is also writing the script for IT: Chapter 2, as well as the third film in the Annabelle franchise. He’s busy!
Wan’s much-anticipated Aquaman hits later this year, and his planned projects after that thus far remain as a producer. With horror riding high right now, it’s natural to expect the Train To Busan remake to do pretty well once it finally arrives. New Line will be hoping it does Conjuring-level business.
#Peace.Love.TrainToBusan
